“Fat” Loss vs “Weight” Loss

Many people using IPEDs are looking to lose weight and there are a number of IPEDs that claim to help with this. There are also numerous diets that claim to help people lose weight rapidly.

But before you start using any of these; it is worth understanding the difference between weight loss and fat loss; as well as understanding how the body reduces weight overall.

When people talk about “losing weight” they usually mean reducing body fat; either for health reasons and/or to change their appearance. Many people will then start a reduced calorie diet for a set period of time. Many of these diets involve restricting calorie intake quite severely.

The problem with these diets is that they often restrict calories too much. This causes a rapid change in overall weight, but much of the weight lost is likely to be stored glycogen in the muscles and protein from muscle tissue. If you restrict calories too much, for too long, your body will hold on to body fat and use other energy sources when possible. This is a survival tactic. What happens then is, your body “shrinks” a little, but as soon as you stop the diet and start eating normally again – the weight goes back on.

In order to lose fat, specifically, you must first reduce the overall calorie intake by a sensible amount (no more than 20%). You must then look at what types of food you are eating. If most of your calories come from sugars and other carbohydrates, you will be unlikely to lose much fat. This does not mean a low carb diet is best.

Rather than “going on a diet” - it is better to just adjust the way you eat. If you want permanent changes to your body you must make permanent changes to your lifestyle, especially your diet. You are much more likely to achieve the results you want if you also include a balanced exercise programme that includes both cardio and strength training.

Fat Loss Supplements/IPEDs

There are many IPEDs that claim to enhance fat loss. Most sports supplements shops and chemists sell supplements that claim to “burn fat”. All so-called “fat burners” are stimulant based. This means they work in similar ways to some illegal drugs such as amphetamines. This also means they can carry some of the same risks. They can leave you feeling jittery and tired, but unable to sleep or relax properly. When you take them for too long, you develop a tolerance to the effects and you need more to have the same effect. However, this means you also get more of the side-effects.

Ephedrine is often found in over the counter “fat burners”. It is a powerful stimulant and should be treated with caution.

Therapeutic use:

There is no current medical use for this drug.

How it is supplied:

Ephedrine can be found in many over the counter fat loss products, usually in small quantities. It is also available in a range of preparations on its own. Either as a powder or in capsules or tablets. Typically the tablets are between 25-50mg.

Therapeutic use:

Whilst this drug is approved for use in the US as an obesity management drug, it is rarely used. In the UK it has been discontinued as highlighted here:January 2010 discontinued in the UK: This medicine has been reviewed by the European Medicines Agency. The review suggests that there is an increased risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes with this medicine and this outweighs the benefits of weight loss achieved with this medicine. People who are currently taking Reductil are advised to make a routine appointment with their doctor to discuss alternative measures to lose weight. There are no health implications if people wish to stop taking this medicine before seeing their doctor.

Drug Description:

DNP is one of the most controversial drugs in use by bodybuilders. This agent is not sold for human use anywhere in the world at this time, but is readily available as an industrial chemical. Among other things, it is used as an intermediary for the production of certain dyes, for photographic development, as a fungicide, in wood pressure-treatment to prevent rotting, and as an insecticide. It is technically classified as a poison. Although quite incongruous with this list of strong industrial/chemical uses, this chemical was sold during the era of patent medicine as a diet drug for humans. It is this property of dinitrophenol that remains of interest to some bodybuilders today.